


New Kid

by aforementionedcrush



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: BatFam Group Home AU?, Birdflash - Freeform, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Fluff, High School AU, M/M, NO CAPES, Pining, but not for long, there’s a bit of spitfire at the start
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-06-29 22:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19839667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aforementionedcrush/pseuds/aforementionedcrush
Summary: When Dick Grayson moves to Central City, he must learn to make new friends, over come new obstacles, and maybe even fall in love.





	1. First Day of School

Dick never liked the idea of moving to Central. Despite common belief, he enjoyed Gotham’s cloudy skies and rainy afternoons. The middle of the country, on the other hand, was warm and sweaty and much too bright for his liking. 

The only thing he was even remotely looking forwards to was the school. 

Eight thirty in the morning, and he was standing on the building’s freshly mowed lawn, staring at the signpost planted just feet in front of him.

Carlton High School  
EST. 1934

What are you waiting for? Just go, what’s the worst that could happen?

Yeah. 

He got his shit together and adjusted the straps of his backpack over his shoulders, walking up to the front doors of the school and stepping inside.

It was loud. There were students crowded around lockers, people hugging, people on their phones, the image of the typical high school experience. At least it was at least pretty to look at, mint green metal doors lining the walls of the hall he walked down in search of his locker, L1062. 

People chattered around him, as he counted down, L1068, L1067, L1066, L1065, L1064, L1063...

He stopped, setting his backpack down and resting his back against his locker door. Slowly, he slid down into a sitting position, glancing at the older students around him doing the same. 

He unzipped his bag, rummaging through it before pulling out his already crumpled schedule. 

A sigh. He really wasn’t good at staying organized, maybe he should have let Bruce pack for him. 

Oh well. 

He tried to flatten the paper on the floor, glancing over it to find his classes. First block, English, Room 243. 

Dick shoved the paper back in his bag, pulled out a lock and zipped it up. Getting to his feet, he secured the lock on his door and made his way towards the nearest stairwell. He walked up to the second floor to begin his search for Room 243. 

The first door to his left was 215, the next 217. He moved that way, making note of the different classrooms he passed on the way. People sat in circles near the doors, talking about their summers and how much they missed each other over the break. He passed a Spanish class and made brief eye contact with a red head sitting with his friends. Man, he was pretty cute-

Nope. He jerked his head back to staring at the floor. No way Jose, not happening. 

He arrived at 243 just as the bell rang, and walked into the classroom. He was the first one there.

The teacher looked up from her desk, smiling. 

“Hello there! Feel free to sit wherever you’d like.”

Dick nodded in response and set his stuff down at a desk to the side of the room. People slowly filled the class, and then the second bell rang. 

The teacher stood up at the front of the class and waved at them. 

“Hello everyone. My name is Ms. Resin. We’re probably just going to go around class and get to know each other today, not too much hard work, okay? It’s the first day back and no one wants homework on day one.” She walked back over to her desk and sat down, seeming to remember something as she reached for a pile of papers. “Right! Before we get started though, I need to take attendance.”

She looked at the computer, and then back at the class. 

“Okay, Thomas?”

“Here.”

“Alia?”

“Here!” 

“Liam?”

“Here.”

He turned his gaze to each new person as their name was called, before-

“Richard?”

“I prefer Dick.” he blurted out, without thinking. People snickered around him as he flushed crimson. “As a name, I mean, my name is Dick not Richard. And yeah, here.”

He looked down at his feet, embarrassed by his lack of eloquence. 

“Okay Dick, thanks for letting me know.” Ms. Resin said with a smile before continuing.

They finished role call, and he managed to get his act together as they were handed out sheets of ice breaker bingo. 

Ms. Resin told them to just walk around the class and get to know each other, so he turned to the person sitting next to him. 

“You,” he said, pointing his pencil at them, “do you have a dog?”

The person turned around to look at him.

“As a matter of fact I do, Dick.” They said, emphasis on his name. It was strange though. The emphasis, it wasn’t a bite. And the kid was smiling. “I’m Garfield.” 

He shook the end of the pencil Dick still had pointed at him. Still surprised, Dick returned the smile and wrote Garfield’s name down in the ‘has a pet dog’ square. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you!”

The rest of the class went well. He managed to stick around Garfield, who had been going to one of the local feeder schools before and already knew most of their classmates. He introduced Dick to his other class friend, a girl named Rachel. Together the three of them managed to finish the bingo, and proudly presented the completed papers to their teacher in exchange for lollipops. 

Today was a good day.

“So, Dick, how was your first day?” 

They were all seated around the dinner table, plates of food Alfred had prepared laid out on the table runner. 

Dick smiled through a bite of broccoli, giving Bruce a thumbs up. 

“It was pretty good. I made some new friends, which is decent for a first day.”

“That’s excellent, Dick.” Alfred congratulated, and Bruce smiled lightly. 

“Yes it is.”

Jason, who hadn’t stopped stopped shovelling pasta into his mouth since they sat down, looked up. 

“What’re their names?”

Dick smiled. “Garfield and Rachel.”

“Oh, those are cool names.” Tim said

Jason rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard cooler.” 

“Yeah, like what?”

“Jason’s pretty cool.”

“That’s just cause it’s your name, stupid.”

“Says someone with a dumb name like Tim!”

They both glared at each other for a second before bursting out laughing, quickly joined by most of the youngsters at the table. 

Cass smiled at him over the noise, and he couldn’t help but feel like the world was never better. 

Maybe moving to Central wasn’t so bad after all.


	2. The Instagram Search

Dick found Garfield and Rachel in the cafeteria the next morning, sitting at one of the long lunch tables with a few other people he hadn’t met. 

“Hey Dick!” Garfield called the moment he stepped through the doors, waving and making a few heads turn. 

Dick set his stuff down on the table and took a seat next to Gar, facing the group and offering small waves in their direction.

“Y’all, this is Dick, he’s officially part of the gang. Dick, this is the gang,” Garfield gestured to the other kids. “You already know Rachel, this is Conner, Roy, Kori, Megan and Bart.”

Dick grinned at them. He really was starting to love this school. 

He was deep in conversation with Kori and Garfield about aliens when Megan waved two new people over to their table. 

“Arty!”

“Megan! Oh my god, how are you!” The blonde girl, Arty, threw her arms around Megan and they basically spun in a circle of happiness. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see you yesterday, I ran into some old friends from elementary and well, some of them really glowed up.” She looked back over her shoulder at the guy she had been walking with. 

Dick followed her gaze, only to see a familiar head of red hair. 

Oh fuck.

“Are you two dating already?” Megan asked, clearly very invested. 

Say no, say no, say no-

The boy, who had now caught up to them, wrapped his arms around Arty from behind and winked at Megan. 

“You betcha.” 

“Hey, Dick.” Garfield tapped his shoulder, “You good?”

Dick tore his eyes away from the couple and smiled at Gar, “Yeah, sorry, just spaced out.”

“Totally chill, my dude. Oh, also,” he pulled his phone out of his pocket, “you got an Insta?”

Dick nodded. “That I do.”

“Snaz, can you type in your handle?”

He handed Dick his phone, who typed in his username and then passed it back.

“Awesome!” He glanced at the clock on his phone, “Oh shit, we should probably go to class.”

The two grabbed their stuff and bid their farewells to the group, before walking out and up the stairs. 

Dick sighed. 

“Hey Gar, do you know that Arty girl?” 

Gar nodded. “Artemis? Yeah, why?” He paused before gasping, “Oh shit, do you have the hots for her?” 

Dick recoiled, “Ew, no, absolutely not!” 

Gar laughed. “I’m just kidding bro, don’t worry. She’s taken now anyways, if that display in the caff was any proof.”

“About that, do you know her boyfriend’s name?” 

“What, got the hots for him?”

There was an awkward silence.   
Dick looked at his shoes.  
Gar gaped, again.

“Wait, shit, really dude?”

Dick blushed crimson and held his hands up to shush his friend. 

“Possibly, maybe, I just asked if you knew his name!” 

“Oh, damn, yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s like, Warner or Wally or something. I don’t really know him that well. Also, he’s a junior dude! You sure you want to get caught up in all the junior-freshman drama?” 

Dick wrinkled his nose. “That’s a thing?”

Gar nodded. “Yeah, big time. I’m surprised he and Arty managed to get together at all, he’s probably getting a lot of shit from his classmates for dating a freshman.”

They arrived at the classroom and made their way to their assigned seats, unfortunately on opposite sides of the room. Their math teacher, Mr. Griplas, handed out some work sheets for them to do to see where the class was at, and gave them free time after. 

Dick finished the worksheet quickly and then pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened Instagram. 

He had a follow request from Gar, which he approved and then followed back. He clicked on Gar’s profile and went through his followers, trying to find some of the other people he knew. He found Conner pretty quickly, then Rachel and Bart and Megan. He was looking for Kori and Roy, when he came across Artemis’s profile. 

He hesitated. Did he really want to stalk someone he just met online? 

Fuck it.

He clicked her profile and immediately noticed her most recent post: a selfie of her and cute boy. 

He clicked on the post and saw that cute boy was tagged and his heart rate kinda picked up a bit. 

He pressed on the tag. 

His name was Wally West, a junior at Carlton High School. He was, as said in his bio, kind of a nerd. He posted mostly candid pictures of his friends alongside the occasional selfie or picture of a planet. 

In other words, he was absolutely perfect. 

Second difficult decision of the day. 

His thumb hovered over the follow button. 

Oh fuck it.


	3. English Project

“Ugh. We’re only a week into school and I already have like, ten projects. I’m gonna die.” Gar groaned, face in his hands.

“It’s not that bad. Besides, English is a group project, we can work together on that one.”

It was lunch hour, Dick and Gar seated across from each other at the back of the cafeteria. 

Gar lifted his head and his face lit up.

“Really? Thank the gods, you’re a lifesaver.”

Dick smiled. 

“No problem.”

He picked a tomato out of his salad, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

Like. 

Like. 

Like. 

He double tapped his way down the page, through Gar and Megan’s selfies, Tim’s hand drawn diagrams and Jason’s oddly aesthetic photographs. Unfortunately, Wally had yet to post something new. He settled for scrolling through his old photos, eyes memorizing every telescope image screenshotted from NASA’s page and each filter saturated photograph of leaf green eyes staring out of frame. 

“Whatcha smiling at?” Gar asked, leaning across the table. 

Dick startled and quickly shut off his phone, tucking it back in his pocket. 

“Nothing.”

“Sure.” Gar zipped up his school bag and got up, “I’m gonna go to my locker if you wanna come with.”

“Alright.” Lunch packed into his bag, Dick followed Gar out of the caff and up the stairs to the first floor. 

Gar’s locker was right across the hall from his, benefits of being in the same home room. He opened his locker door and shoved his lunch bag in, before locking it again and giving Dick a smile. 

“Alrighty, where to next?” 

Dick checked the time on his phone. 12:40.

“We should probably go to class, the bell’s gonna go in five minutes.”

“Smart.” Gar nodded. “What do you have next?”

“Science. It’s just around the corner.”

“Nice, I’ve got Spanish. Other way. Well, I’ll see you in Geo?” 

“Yup. Have fun!” Dick waved to Gar as he walked back down the hall, and turned the corner to head to science class. 

The final bell rang and Gar let out a sigh of relief from next to him.

“Thank the lords, that class is the worst.”

Dick shrugged. “I don’t mind it. Too many rocks though, I don’t understand why they couldn’t just call it dirt and be done with.”

“Exactly, it’s ridiculous.” 

They walked side by side down the stairs and out the front door. 

“Hey, why don’t you come over to my place?” Dick suggested, “We could get a head start on that English project, and also, we have Mario Kart.”

Gar grinned. “Sure, sounds awesome!”

“Let us go then!” 

They laughed and walked off school grounds, headed in the direction of Dick’s house. It was only a few streets from the school, so they got there pretty quickly. 

“Woah.” Gar said as they stopped outside the house. “This is your house?” 

Dick nodded, “Yup, the one and only.”

“That’s sick. Do you have siblings or do you like, get the whole thing to yourself.”

Dick stopped, hand on the latch to the gate. 

“Well, it’s complicated.” He sighed. “I’m a foster kid, so I live here with basically my three brothers and two sisters, plus my foster dad and his foster dad. We’re like, a big foster family.” He smiled at Gar. “It’s really great.”

“Oh. Damn, I didn’t know you lived in a...”

“A group home?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s alright. I don’t like to shove it in people’s faces. Kinda hand enough pity so far, you know? Besides, it’s not perfect all the time, but it’s home. Wouldn’t change anything about it.”

They stood there in silence, before Dick lifted the latch and pushed open the gate. 

“That got emotional, sorry about that.”

Gar smiled and shook his head. “It’s totally fine. I’m excited to meet your family.” 

“Yeah, they’re really great. Well, most of the time.”

Gar laughed, as Dick opened the front door and stepped inside. 

They were greeted instantly by Damian, who ran up and hugged Dick’s legs. 

“You’re home!” He shouted, smiling, until he noticed Gar. He took a step back and narrowed his eyes. “Why’d you bring home a stranger?” 

Dick smiled. “He’s not a stranger, Dami, he’s my friend. Dams, meet Gar. Gar, this is Damian.” 

Gar smiled and waved, but Damian’s glare didn’t waver. 

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t like new people.” Dick said to Gar as they walked up the stairs, “He’ll get used to you eventually, and then you’ll basically be inducted into the family.” 

“S’alright.” 

They reached the top of the stairs and Dick pushed open the closest door, walking inside. 

“Welcome.” 

There was a window across from the door, a bunk bed with a closet at its foot. To the side there was a desk cluttered with paper and pens, which Dick lent his school bag against and then sat down on the carpet. 

He tapped the floor in front of him.

“You coming?”

Gar nodded, and sat across from him, still looking around the room as he did. 

“Alrighty. English project, then Mario Kart. You ready for this?” 

Gar grinned. 

“Hell yeah, let’s go.”


	4. Halloween

The two worked diligently on their project for a few hours, along with some video game breaks here and there. When Gar was eventually putting on his shoes in the front foyer, it all seemed to have gone by too quickly for Dick’s taste.

“Thanks so much for having me over, Mr. Wayne.” Gar said, gathering his school bag from the bench.

Bruce smiled from the doorway. “Our pleasure. And please, call me Bruce.” 

“Alrighty. Well, I’m gonna head out.” He turned to Dick, grinning. “See you at school?” 

Dick returned the grin. “Absolutely.”

With that, he was out the door and the house was a bit too quiet. 

“Seems like a good kid.” Bruce said, “I’m proud of you, Dick.” 

He patted Dick on the shoulder, before a crash sounded. 

“Jay! Stop climbing on the counters! Bruce, Jason was climbing on the countertops again!” Tim shouted from the kitchen, and Bruce ran off to check on them. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Not sure about the plates though.”

“You’re too old to be monkeying around up there, Jason.”

Dick watched them from the hallway, and he felt joy rising in his chest. 

That night as he went to bed, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

September came and went faster than he thought it would. He and Gar were essentially inseparable at this point, and he had been fully inducted into The Gang. It was nice to have friends. Well, more than one at least. 

He missed Gotham less and less each day, although he did have the occasional bout of homesickness. However, with October almost done and Halloween on the horizon, life was giving him other things to worry about.

“What do you mean a dance?” 

Dick and Gar were sitting in their usual lunch spot among their other friends. As per usual, Dick was lost in terms of school events. 

“I mean, they’re having a Halloween dance this Friday and you’d better be there. They’ve got a haunted house and everything, it’s gonna be so lit.”

“Okay, I’ll ask Bruce about it. He might say no though.” Dick warned, pulling his phone out of his pocket to text his dad. 

“That’s alright.” Gar grinned, “Worst case scenario we can sneak you out.”

The two laughed, and shared twin smiles.

The week ran by. They did their English presentation Wednesday morning, and spent every lunch hour tossing jokes back and forth alongside excitement about upcoming movies or shows. Dick bonded with Bart and Rachel, finding common ground over their mutual love of superheroes. Conversation with Kory and Roy helped with the homesickness the two understood very well. Megan helped him stay upbeat, Conner spoke few but nonetheless comforting words, and Wally made him smile. Each time they passed each other in the hall. Each time they shared brief eye contact, followed by hidden smiles. 

Things were more than good, if you were to ask him. 

Things were amazing. 

Dick stood outside the school at six thirty on Friday afternoon, smiling to himself as he waited to meet his friends. He probably arrived way too early, but he couldn’t push down his excitement. He’d never been to a proper school dance before. 

A car pulled up on the street beside him, and Gar jumped out. 

“Hey Dick!” He shouted running up the lawn to meet him. 

The two turned to the school, the faint sound of music echoing through the air and ground.

“You ready?” 

“Absolutely.” Dick smiled and nodded.

“Alrighty then, let’s-a-go!” 

The two walked up to the front doors of the school, pulling them open and walking towards the gym. The music grew steadily louder as the went, running into more and more students milling around the hallways. 

Through the gym doors, and the noises pushed against his eardrums as they walked on a vibrating wood floor towards where their friends were gathered. 

Song after song played, the group barely dancing over laughter and smiles. He was challenged by Bart to do the Macarena, which turned into lying on the gym floor in near tears of embarrassment and laughter, and after a half hour of making a fool of himself he decided to get some air. 

He walked out of the gym, heavy metal doors closing behind him. The hallway was filled by a concession stand and small crowds of students, one of which he noted to contain Kory, Roy, Megan, Rachel and Wally.

He made his way over to the group, smiling and taking a seat next to Megan. 

“Hi Dick!” She greeted, “How’s the dance?” 

“Good, but also loud,” he laughed lightly, “Thought I’d get some air.”

Wally nodded. “I feel that. Dances are great and all, but the noise does get a bit much. At least there’s good snacks.” He grinned, and Dick felt a flutter in his chest. 

“Yeah.” He agreed, although even the one word was a bit feeble.

“Also, your name is Dick, right? It’s either that or everyone just, doesn’t like you for some reason.” 

Dick laughed, “Yeah, my name is Dick. It’s short for Richard, don’t know why.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dick. I’m Wally.” He held out his hand, which Dick shook, albeit rather quickly. 

“Hey Walls, I just read this new thing...” 

Wally let go, and Dick was left staring at his hands through the conversations, wondering if this was what it felt like to be in love.

That’s ridiculous. There’s no such thing as love at first sight. Or, first handshake, anyways. 

And yet. 

Wally brought out these unimaginable feelings in him. Ones he’d never felt before, thought countless friendships, fleeting crushes, even his first kiss.

Why were things different when he smiled? It felt like vines climbing Dick’s throat, roses threaded through his intestines. Like someone was stitching hearts into his soul, and it hurt but it was so beautiful. 

They dragged on through topic after topic, Dick learning as he watched about Wally’s fascination with lightning clouds, his marvels at the small wonders of the universe, from the colours in the sky to the sparks you felt in your heart when you took someone’s hand. 

Every moment of it was mesmerizing, the joy in Wally’s eyes when asked about multiverse theories, or the string that held together the universe. The drop of his smile when Roy took Kory’s hand. 

“So, Wally, how are things going with you and Artemis?” Megan giggled.

He sighed. “We broke up.” 

Dick’s heart jumped as Megan’s sank. 

“Oh, well... that’s too bad. You two looked really happy together.”

“Yeah, well, some things just don’t work out.” Wally stood up and stared almost longingly in the direction of the gym doors. “I’m gonna go, have fun you guys.”

And he stepped out of the circle to push apart the metal doors. A stream of sound poured into the hallway, and then it closed behind him. 

Dick stood up. 

“Leaving so soon?” Megan asked, pouting.

He smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. Just gonna go see Gar again, don’t want him getting lonely.” 

“Okay. Well, have fun!” She waved, and he returned the gesture as he too walked through the doors, enveloped by music. 

The sound hit him like a truck and he barely heard the doors slam shut behind him. Squinting through the laser lighting, he was able to make out the shapes of people moving about the dance floor, although his eyes had yet to adjust.

He stepped slowly through the crowd, searching for Wally’s bright hair in the sea of brown.

He found him eventually. The redhead was dancing among a group of older students, if you could call it that. His arms close to his chest, he swayed back and forth, smile brighter than the sun could ever be. 

The bass sent tremors through Dick’s feet as he stood, unmoving, at the back of the gym. He looked around for Gar’s obnoxiously green hair, but was only met with Wally’s gaze. Staring right at him.

His smile never faded, even as he met Dick’s eyes. He saw his mouth move, and a wave sent his way. Followed soon by a gesture. 

_Come over._

Heavy sound slowed his footsteps as he made his way towards the group. Wally smiled when Dick stood next to him, patting him on the head. 

Was he supposed to be able to breathe? 

“You looked so lonely over there! Didn’t want your first school dance to be a bad one.” 

The blinding smile almost drowned out his words, mixed with the accelerating beat of his heart. 

“Thanks.” He sputtered. He was barely able to think.

Mind and blood racing, he let the music flow into his memory as he stood there, swaying by Wally’s side in the darkness of a school gym.

_Starships are meant to fly_

_Hands up, and touch the sky_

It must be a dream, some kind of witchcraft. People didn’t smile like that. No one could brighten that dark of a room with words. 

_Can’t stop, ‘cause we’re so high_

A step closer, Wally’s hands brushing his own. He couldn’t breathe. No way. Shoulders touching, millimetres apart, a hand close to his back, sound trembling to the tips of his fingers.

_Let’s do this one last time_

The floor shook. Teenagers jumping in joy-drunken stupor, shock of red hair all that he saw as he stared up. Blinked. The fleeting brush of a hand through his hair. Hope coursing through him. Open eyes, open mouth, about to speak. Music rumbling over his words, feeble whispers lost in song. 

You’re beautiful 

_Starships are meant to fly_

I’ll never forget how you made me feel. 

Alone in the dark.

But not forever. 

_Hands up, and touch the sky_

You have so many wonders to share with the world. 

Thoughts beyond the minds of the many. 

Dreams beyond the stars.

_Can’t stop, ‘cause we’re so high_

And I’ll never forget those emerald eyes.

_Hands up-_

Dick laughed, ecstasy painting his thoughts.

He looked around the room.

_We’re higher than a motherfucker_

Wally and Artemis were kissing by the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> through hard work and caffeination all things can be accomplished


	5. Chapter Five

The morning was hard. Sunlight seemed too bright, and if he had it his way he’d be still curled up by noon. 

But whether he liked it or not, he had to go. Bruce had enough on his hands, with Damian becoming more and more devious each day, Tim and Jason’s constant bickering, and Cass and Steph’s antics. He didn’t need another problem on his mind.

Dick stepped out of the bed, feet cold against the wood floor, and made his way to the shower. His arms felt heavy as the water ran over him, and then they hung by his side as he stared, dead eyed, into the fogged up mirror. 

He hated this. He hated that boy for being so beautiful, and he hated himself for being so stupid. 

What made him think he had a chance?

Maybe it was the electricity in the air when their hands touched. But maybe that magic was just the boosted bass rattling his bones. Maybe it was all inside his head. 

His shirt stuck to his back, and his jeans rubbed uncomfortably around his calves as he walked down the stairs, sparing a smile to Cass, who sat at the piano. He waved to Alfred as he slung his bag on his shoulder, and sighed as he opened up the door. 

He’d gotten this far, right? That was good. Just six more hours to go. 

He found Gar and the rest of his friends huddled around a table in the caff, as per usual. They all turned to wave at him as he approached, and he did his best to return the brilliant smiles. 

“Dick!” Gar shouted, standing up from the table, “What up!” 

The two ran towards each other and met in the middle with a hug, nearly knocking each other to the ground. 

“Did you have fun Friday? I didn’t see you after you left my dude, I was kind worried.”

Dick grimaced, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It was awesome at the start with you guys, but it got a bit overwhelming. Bruce picked me up.”

Gar’s smile didn’t waver.  
“That’s okay! As long as you had a good time.” He winks, and Dick laughs.

The two moved back to the table to sit with the rest of the group, Dick trying hard not to follow Megan’s gaze as she stared longingly at the doors. He knew who she was waiting for, and honestly? He wasn’t sure he could deal with that right now.

But the universe hated him, which was clear as a voice cut through their conversation.

“Megan!” Artemis shouted, running up to their table, “Megan! Guess what?”

She grinned, eyes sparkling.

“What?” 

“I’m going... on a date tonight!”

She squealed and pulled Megan into a tight hug. 

“Oh my god, really?” Megan returned the enthusiasm, a similar shine in her eyes as she watched Artemis spin with happiness.

“Yup!” Artemis nodded.

“With who?”

“You know who.”

“Wait, really! I thought you guys broke up?” 

Artemis shrugged. 

“We had a bit of a fight. But it’s all better now, we talked it out and we-“

She whispered the rest into Megan’s ear, and the ginger girl flushed red. 

“Holy- oh my god, TMI.”

Dick wanted to slam his head against the table. He hoped it wasn’t too obvious he was feeling that way, but maybe it was, since Gar grabbed him by the arm and nearly dragged him out of the caff.

“Gar- wait, stop- Gar what are you doing.” He sputtered as he was lead down the hall and to the stairs.

Gar stopped and turned to face him, shrugging.

“You looked uncomfortable.”

Dick relaxed, smiling. 

“Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know what it feels like to be in that kind of situation, and it sucks major ass. I just did what I’d want someone to do for me.”

“You’re the best. And you’re right, it does suck ass. I don’t think I could bear to listen to what kind of shit he gets up to in his spare time-“

Dick was cut off as he heard another pair of students walking down the stairs, one of whom’s voices he recognized.

His eyes went wide, and he pulled Gar behind the stairs to block them from view.

“- I am glad we’re back together.” Wally said, “She’s really great, not to mention gorgeous.”

“Yeah,” said the other voice, “but you realize you are going to have to talk about that fight at some point, right?” 

“I know. I was all my fault. I can’t expect her to put up with me calling other people attractive, it was stupid.”

There was a pause, and the footsteps stopped near the doors.

“Walls. Hon. That’s not what she was mad about.”

There was another shocked silence, on Wally’s behalf. 

“Wait, what? Why not?”

“Dude. Bro. My main man. How can you be so smart but so stupid.”

“I’m confused, if she wasn’t upset about me calling that guy attractive what was it then?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. She wasn’t upset you were calling him attractive it’s just that fact that it was a-“

The door opened and closed behind the two, cutting off the end of their conversation with a slam.

Dick stared at Gar in shock, the other boy not quite as surprised.

“Dude.”

“Yeah?”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah?”

“Wally’s bi. He likes dudes. He called a dude attractive.” Dick’s gestures got more and more dramatic as Gar continued to look unimpressed.

“Yeah?”

“Why aren’t you surprised, did you know this already?”

“Yeah, I could tell.”

“How?”

“From the literal everything about him.”

“Wait, what?”

Gar laughed, stepping out from behind the stairs.

“Dude, he wears earrings. He wears make up. He wore a skirt to homecoming last year. Not to mention he just... has those vibes.”

“What vibes?”

“The ultimate twink vibes.”

“Oh.”

They walked up the stairs together, Dick slowly picking up the pieces of his thoughts as they made their way to class.

He was still in a stupor by the time he got home, staring mindlessly at his homework, unable to process any of it. 

“Dick, are you okay?” 

He was brought back to reality by Bruce’s voice, shaking his head a few times before looking up at his foster dad.

“Yeah, I’m all good. Geo homework is just kicking my butt.”

Bruce smiled.

“Well, if you need any help, I’m here.”

There was a moment of silence in the house, before Damian shouted from upstairs.

Bruce gave a worried look to the ceiling. 

“I’m going to go see what that’s about. If you need anything, just shout.”

He hurried up the stairs. 

Dick sighed and turned back to his Geo homework. 

The night ticked by, and he only managed to fill out one question and sketch a little comic of an emerald eyed boy watching the stars. 

He brushed his teeth and washed his face before bed, pulling on his pyjamas and walking back into his room. 

Tim was fast asleep on the second bunk, and Dick was tucking himself in when Bruce knocked at the door.

“You can come in.” Dick said, pulling the sheets up over his legs.

Bruce poked his head into the room.

“Just wanted to make sure you were doing okay.” he said, “Do you need anything.”

“No, I-“ Dick sat in silence for a second. “... Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about?”

Bruce walked over to the bed, sitting down by Dick’s feet.

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“I.. I...” He paused to take a deep breath.

“Take your time.”

“Bruce, I... I think I’m in love with someone.”

The room was silent.

“Dick, that’s wonderful.”

Dick sighed, sitting up. “No, it’s not. It’s really not. They’re dating one of my friends and I don’t know what to do about it and I-“

“Dick. Dick, just breathe.”

He realized he was starting to hyperventilate. He leaned against Bruce’s side and took deep breaths, letting the arm around his shoulders keep him grounded.

“It’s going to be okay, robin. It’s going to be okay. Falling in love for the first time is hard, that’s true. I know that very well. But she won’t be the last one, I promise. Even if things don’t work out this time, there will be more chances. And maybe the next time you’ll find someone even better. Besides, she’d have to be crazy to not want a boy as sweet, kind and loving as you.”

Dick tried to keep the tears back, but he couldn’t. He started sobbing, pulling himself out of Bruce’s arms and retreating back into the sheets. 

“Dick? What’s wrong, robin? I’m so sorry, did I say something-“

“It’s- It’s not you,” he forced out between sobs, “It’s not you, it’s me, I’m disgusting-“

“I’m sure that’s not true, Dick-“

“No! It is, I’m horrible, I can’t even freaking say it, I can’t... I can’t... I’m sorry...”

Bruce pulled the boy into a tight hug, rocking him back and forth.

“You don’t need to say anything you’re not ready to, robin. I’m here for you.”

The room went quiet, filled only by the choked sobs coming from Dick. Slowly, his tears turned to sniffles, and he relaxed into the hug. 

“Bruce?”

“Yes?”

“It’s not a girl.” 

It was barely a whisper. But Bruce heard it. 

“That’s okay, robin. There’s nothing wrong with you. And even if there was, it would take a lot more than that for me to stop loving you.”

Dick smiled, drying his eyes with the sleeves of his pyjamas.

“Thank you.”


End file.
